Chapter 223: The Kingdom of Oro Nova

The Federation's relocation of its industries to other star nations during the war proceeded as planned.

The primary destination for this transition was the Kingdom of Oro Nova, strategically located on the Cosmic Silk Road. Leveraging the Federation's commercial ties with the Olive Branch Civilization, Oro Nova possessed formidable commercial potential. From the early days of its establishment, it had secured a substantial portion of the manufacturing contracts for products supplied to the Olive Branch Civilization.

Despite governing only 81 star systems, the Kingdom of Oro Nova was, in reality, the most powerful of the five star nations, both economically and in terms of actual strength.

The king of Oro Nova, Oro Nova himself, was a formidable individual.

With the systems provided by Ella, he rapidly expanded and established the Kingdom of Oro Nova, enjoying nearly a thousand years of uninterrupted success. Unlike many fictional protagonists, he was not known for his benevolence, and anyone in his vicinity who dared to betray him would face the harshest of punishments.

After establishing the star nation, he eliminated many of his former followers to stabilize the regime, ensuring that he held absolute control over every aspect.

If one were to draw a historical parallel, he would most closely resemble Zhu Yuanzhang.

Rising from humble beginnings, he seized the opportunity presented by Ella's empowerment to become the founder of a star nation, ruling over dozens of star systems.

Imagine a Zhu Yuanzhang with a lifespan potentially spanning hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years—a truly terrifying prospect!

His life story alone could fill an epic poem.

Ella subsequently provided the star nations with opportunities, and the Kingdom of Oro Nova was among those that seized them. As a result, over the following millennia, Ella continued to increase her investments in Oro Nova, personally fostering its current prosperity.

This time was no exception.

It was another test.

Ella transferred over 80% of the production lines to the Kingdom of Oro Nova.

Initially, these production lines did not generate profits for Oro Nova and even resulted in a continuous flow of funds to the Federation.

However, Oro Nova possessed remarkable fores. He envisioned the future, and after taking over these production lines, he disregarded the objections of his subordinates and poured resources into them, quadrupling the production capacity Ella had initially projected.

This was precisely what Ella had intended, and it remains the Federation's goal today.

Of course, this was still far from sufficient.

Seizing the opportunity presented by Oro Nova's enthusiasm, Ella created additional favorable conditions for the Kingdom of Oro Nova.

Observing Oro Nova's rise, the Olive Branch Civilization, unable to directly attack the Federation, chose to support it instead of allowing the Federation to develop unhindered. Chu bypassed the Federation's surveillance and contacted Oro Nova, expressing his intention to provide support.

Oro Nova, driven by grand ambitions, agreed almost instantly.

However, Ella's influence was instrumental in making this collaboration possible, even though she was initially unaware of it. After Chu established contact with Oro Nova, Ella became informed of the situation.

Chu's involvement was not unexpected.

Oro Nova's desire to capitalize on the momentum was not a fleeting thought.

Subsequently, Chu provided Oro Nova with technological support, leading to further industrial advancements in the Kingdom of Oro Nova, surpassing even the Federation.

The Federation's industries were drawn to Oro Nova like a vortex.

This is the backdrop against which the Kingdom of Oro Nova currently operates.

Especially during the Federation's intense conflict with the Silk Civilization, Oro Nova's ambition is to bring its star nation on par with, if not surpass, the Federation.

Recently, however, Oro Nova discovered something intriguing.

He realized that many things were not entirely under his control.

For instance, in this war, he intended to deduct a portion of the Federation's large warship orders, and his subordinates did convey this message.

But when he went undercover to investigate, he found that the warships were delivered flawlessly. Not only was there no deduction, but the quality exceeded what had been promised.

As a Zui'em, having risen from humble beginnings, he had witnessed countless similar situations and even orchestrated many of them.

When unable to defeat an enemy head-on, he would often start by turning their subordinates against them, then have the enemy provide him with conveniences while keeping the upper echelons in the dark, gradually eroding the enemy's strength.

Astonishingly, this very scenario was now playing out in his own life.

He felt a sense of crisis.

This sense of crisis caused his root system to burrow even deeper into the ground.

The Zui'em are a plant-like lifeform, akin to tree people.

Earth's plants possess consciousness, and if their development had taken a slightly different path, mythical tree people might have emerged, especially among those capable of movement, like the Venus flytrap.

By consuming other organisms, they could sustain the energy requirements of a brain or a vast network of neurons.

The Zui'em also possess some physical characteristics similar to beastly races.

Oro Nova's appearance resembles an opaque cluster of ice crystals, standing at a height of 4 meters and weighing over 10 tons. His body is soft, and his skin secretes a colorful toxin with a pleasant fragrance, attracting other organisms to lick it. Once they are paralyzed by the potent poison, his entire body splits open, revealing a half-meter-wide mouth that devours the prey.

In reality, they are quite agile, not of the sluggish variety.

The Zui'em had remained inconspicuous within the Federation for a long time because they are difficult to move, as their root systems cannot be pulled out of the mud like those of tree people; instead, they must be deeply embedded. Additionally, their plant-like nature makes them overly dependent on water, light, and heat sources, making long-distance travel challenging.

For the Federation's spaceships, these issues are easily manageable.

But why would the Federation modify the internal structure of its spaceships for a race that offers no advantage?

This is not a worthwhile endeavor for a space company.

Consequently, the Zui'em must fund these modifications themselves, but as a destitute race, where would they find the money?

These reasons explain why, after being freed from the Purple Thorn Civilization, the Zui'em remained stagnant within the Federation for tens of thousands of years until Oro Nova obtained the system.

Therefore, he values it immensely and will not tolerate any lifeform hindering his path to strength and the rise of his race.

Upon sensing the presence of traitors, Oro Nova acted swiftly.

"Find all the traitors and execute them without mercy!"

He issued this command to his private army of 140 million, which controls 30% of the Kingdom of Oro Nova's battleships, personally overseen by Oro Nova.

His orders were not conveyed through the chain of command or to the ship captains but directly to the captains of each battleship.

He is the commander and the ship captain.

He will not allow any lifeform to take anything from his star nation.